Former Mexico World Cup player shot dead

The bloodshed that has engulfed Mexico City the past few years has claimed a former Mexico World Cup soccer star.

Written by Agence-France Presse

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Mexico City:

The bloodshed that has engulfed Mexico City the past few years has claimed a former Mexico World Cup soccer star.

Mexican police said on Thursday that former Mexico defender Ignacio Flores Ocaranza was gunned down in a night-time roadside attack. The motive for the attack is unknown.

Since President Felipe Calderon declared an all-out war on drug cartels five years ago, more than 34,000 people have been killed. In May, 90,000 people crammed the city's historic downtown demanding an end to the violence.

Authorities said Flores, 58, was killed Wednesday at a gas station and that two of his brothers were also injured. His van was riddled with bullets.

Flores was a member of Mexico's 1978 World Cup team and won five Mexican titles with Cruz Azul in the 1970s and '80s.